We are exhibiting at Outdoor Retailer, a big tradeshow in Salt Lake City in the next few days, August 2-5 and today was touch down. After missioning in the studio for the last couple weeks, I finally passed out on the plane and woke up in Salt Lake City. 

I was so zonked I felt like I was moving through ether in the first few hours of desert heat. We are staying at a d.o.d.g.y hotel, The Days Inn in Millcreek. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but I am looking forward to the arrival of my roomie, my friend and colleague, Maria from PoCampo. Be prepared for the minimal customer service experience and hotel loveliness, Maria;) Actually, though the staff is really nice and the long ride back tonight was chill. 

Duct tape on the hotel door handle... hmmm... not to sure about that -- but don't worry, Mom, I've double locked the door.

The road home at the end of the day - I love the electricity poles.

I spent the day getting acquainted with the city and prepping for the show, and it's been a nice slow day of prep and discovery; unlike what tomorrow will be like, I'm sure. I'll be setting up the booth and expect a long day of work. However! I am stoked. Before the above photo was taken, I took the LRT, called "Traks" here - love it! It's kinda super slang. I digress, I took 'Traks' down to the Tradeshow venue and figured out how that route works and then walked over to Salt Lake Bicycle Co. to pick up my bike rental. People in this city are so kind and courteous, I've had such a good day of random conversations, a lot of them had on the way to the bike shop. After one such conversation, I looked up and saw this across the road.

next, I picked up my bike  from the good people at the Salt Lake City Bicycle Co.  a few doors down and across the street.

They updated and informed me about some of the roads here and the cycling vibe and also let me know where the Good Will Thrift store is here. I had wanted to go and get a table for the booth, something vintage and cheaper than $70 for an lacquered generic table that is provided from the services at the show. I certainly found a couple good ones - I'm pretty stoked... and I'll take photos tomorrow. I again, had a few really great and genuine interactions at the 'D.I', I can't remember the actual name of the store now, but that is what they call the Good Will here. Then it was time to get sustenance and head to home. The roads here a super wide, accommodating for bikes, even on the wide busy main roads, and many of the roads are marked for bikes. I was and am impressed and am looking forward to discovering more. I was also surprised at how unpopulated they seem in comparison to some other cities I've biked. Wide roads with, even when it's busy, few cars. On day one, my overall observation is it's pretty easy to navigate and bike on the road here. 

And this is the sky I saw on the way home. 

The clouds in this city are amazing. I've seen so many different sky moods in 12 hours. Stormy, Fluffy and a super amazing sunset.

Can't wait for more tomorrow... and all of you, stay tuned for booth prep photos tomorrow! <3! yeah!

and p.s - Thank you to the great peeps from ECO Bottle for the computer cables! I'm so glad I chatted it up with you today on many levels. One being that I wouldn't be typing this without your donation!;) ( I left my power cables in Calgary).